The 2009 BC Land Summit will be an interdisciplinary conference organized by six professional organizations, all of whom share ties to land use in British Columbia and who will combine their 2009 annual conferences into this exciting joint venture.

The 2009 BC Land Summit will build on the success of the 2004 BC Land Summit in Vancouver, and will provide opportunities to learn, share ideas, collaborate and network with others working in diverse land-related fields.

2009 BC LAND SUMMIT Program THEME

A Better Future: Adapting to Change

The broad over-arching conference theme for the 2009 BC Land Summit is A Better Future: Adapting to Change. This theme recognizes the many different processes of change – from the global to the local – affecting land, land-use, and communities’ relationship with the land. This theme also adopts a positive, future-oriented perspective that recognizes the valuable and important need for informed adaptation as we move forward in the face of change. Within the umbrella of the over-arching conference theme, the program will be organized into four sub-themes, outlined below. We seek proposals for presentations, papers, workshops, media, and other unique forms of engagement – including mobile workshops, demonstration site tours, and more – that explore the many dimensions of change which are affecting land, land-use and communities across British Columbia and beyond.

Program SUB-THEMES

Changing Place & Space – Communities in Transition:

This sub-theme will focus on human settlements and the built environment, from urban centres to small towns and rural communities, and the many diverse and sometimes contradictory forces of change affecting them. Topic areas that will be covered under this sub-theme include: housing, urban design, downtown revitalization, development economics, municipal taxation, green design, small town & rural community issues, issues of locality and identity, community engagement, resource communities in the contemporary context, issues of resort development, and more.

Changing Environments – Natural & Cultural Diversity:

The sub-theme will focus on the complex diversities of people, communities and the natural environment, and the dynamic issues facing them. Topic areas that will be covered under this sub-theme include: First Nations community issues, environmental & nature conservation, connecting with nature, water issues, food security, food quality and agriculture, agricultural land regulation and global/local impacts on agricultural lands, demographic change and cultural diversity, and more.

A World of Change – Growth & Globalization:

This sub-theme will focus on the major global, dynamic issues and challenges that are affecting and impacting the land, environment and all communities and regions. Topic areas that will be covered under this sub-theme will include: climate change, economic growth issues and globalization, community durability, energy and resources, governance, and more.

Change in Motion – Movement, Transportation & Travel:

This sub-theme will focus primarily on transportation, movement and travel at every level and scale and their vital, interactive relationship with land and land-use. Topic areas that will be included under this sub-theme include: public transit, transportation infrastructure, cycling, alternate modes of transportation, goods movement, travel and tourism, pedestrianization, jobs and housing balance, green transportation and more